I haven’t been food shopping in over a month.
I should grown my own food, but don’t. Jay-z said “dig a
hole” and maybe I should. Fill it with some seeds, sprinkle with water and some
TLC. I’ll be feasting on next season’s dinner in no time.
Seriously, I would love to eat fresh, organic produce every
day. A while back I came across this documentary about eight UK adults picked
to live in the monkey section of a zoo and eat the exact same diet as monkeys—all
fresh and raw fruits and vegetables. One man never saw cauliflower before. In
the end they all lost weight, felt better, had improved some of their medical conditions
and vowed to each healthier. There is
even an American documentary out about the same sort of thing.
Don’t know about you, but I’m not trying to live in a cage
in order to eat right nor am I willing to go broke buying overpriced organic
produce. This leaves me with another option: urban farming. As part of 99problems.org, I’m always looking for
solutions to problems facing the urban community. Perhaps bringing farming to
the hood will end the on-going battle for quality supermarkets and fresh produce
in poor communities as well as educating people about the power of Mother
Earth.
Urban Farming
Living in the big city means more concrete than grass. Where
would I plant my seeds? Martha Stewart broke down how to create your own compos
heap but I’m not trying to be labeled the funky neighbor hording banana peels
and potato skins in a box.
During my weekly
radio show, the topic of eating healthy was raised. This got me to
wondering: At what point in society did we transition from farming our own
foods to living off of processed foods, McDonald’s and High Fructose Corn
Syrup?
You’d have an easier time finding bin Laden than you would a
boxed/canned or bottled food that didn’t
have high fructose corn syrup in its list of ingredients. Fun Fact: the higher
up in the list of ingredients something is on the label, the more that product
contains it. (i.e. If you pick up a bottle of apple juice and apple juice is
the last thing on the list, put it down! Buy a bag of apples and juice them
yourself.)
Perhaps farming in the hood would catch on if it was
marketed right. Folks would house their mini-gardens on their window sills.
Dudes on the block would start selling 100% Columbian dirt. When a fella asks
if you’ve seen his hoe, he really means a hoe.
Seed packages would be sold in corner stores and 7 Elevens and endorsed by Hip
Hop celebs with great taglines:
Jay-Z Apple Seeds: One Jay-Z apple a day keeps the hate away
Lil Wayne Zucchini: It goes with everything, and makes bread
too!
Beyoncé Butternut Squash: So pretty, so yellow, so smooth
Notorious B.I.G. Eggplant: Black and ugly as ever…however good
for you.
I’ll rope up the ox and you grab the seeds
– CH
For the last seven
years, Chloé A. Hilliard has been a culture/entertainment
journalist, writing for the Village Voice, Essence, Vibe,
King, and The Source. In addition to writing TheX Fact(her), a hip hoppers humorous look at politics, she co-hosts I’m Sayin’ Radio, a
weekly talk show, and aspires to be a vegan. Learn more about her on chloehilliard.com.